I, Robot

The film "I,robot" offers many examples of how a man-made robot can represent common anxieties and fears of society. The first example that I thought of was the fact that the climax of the movie shows the robots as a unified and menacing force, being controlled by an omniscient force. At one point, they cannot even function without the guidance of VIKI, an artificially intelligent computer that goes rogue. This aspect of the movie makes me think about modern day society and how as a college student, many of us have anxious thoughts about ending up in a career where we are stuck in a cubicle and may feel helpless in our attempts to control our day to day activities as we perform tasks and follow orders of a boss or CEO that we rarely see. The menacing and depressing idea of hopelessness that is portrayed in the film is all to relevant in the modern world of capitalism.

Another aspect of the movie that may be seen as a metaphor for today's society is the eventual destruction of advancement as the society portrayed in the film as they revert back to a more functional society. Although the timing makes it a stretch, this can be compared to today's international affairs. As the tension between religious groups, countries and social and economic issues grow, it is only a matter of time before we have no choice but to reflect on our humanities past and revert back to idealizations that have proved healthier than the current world order. An example, the tolerance the MLK fought for could be related to the battle that the homosexual community is striving for.